1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a running toy and a runway.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, running toys adapted to run on electric power batteries as power sources are costly because primary batteries are used and the usual batteries must be frequently replaced with new ones. Moreover, there are rechargeable running toys adapted to use rechargeable batteries of secondary batteries, however, such running toys are adapted to use nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries as secondary batteries, so each of which disadvantageously has a low voltage and a small discharge current, and to secure long discharging duration and high speed, large-capacity nickel-cadmium batteries or a plurality of nickel-cadmium batteries have to be used, which disadvantageously makes running toys heavy and large-sized, and which require long charging times.
Under such background, running toys adapted to use condensers as power sources have been sold recently. By using condensers as power sources, running toys become capable to be charged for a very short time and to output a comparatively high voltage, and, condensers in themselves are small-sized, which advantageously makes running toys small-sized. Moreover, condensers in themselves are low-priced, which makes running toys low-priced.
However, this type of condensers have small capacity, and running toys have running times for only a few minutes even if the condenser is fully charged. Therefore, running toys have to be charged every several minutes and have been unsuitable for racing cars by necessity of frequent charge.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of circumstances of the aforesaid problems inherent in prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a running toy which can be charged while the player plays with the toy by simplifying operation of charging the running toy and by providing a charging runway as one element of playing with the running toys.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy comprising a running body and a runway, wherein said running body comprises a reception means for receiving outer operating information, a control means for control based on the information received by the reception means, a driving means for making wheels rotate by control signals from the control means, a condenser able to supply electric power to the driving means, and a connecting means connected to the condenser and charging the condenser from the outside of the running body, and wherein said runway comprises a power supply for supplying electric power and an electric power supply means connected to said power supply and adapted to come in contact with the connecting means of said running body so as to supply electric power.
According to the construction of the first aspect of the present invention, the player can charge the running toy while playing by simplifying operation of charging the running toy and by providing a charging runway as one element of playing with the running toy.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in the first aspect of the invention, wherein the runway is provided with a display means for displaying a state of charging the running body.
According to the construction of the second aspect of the present invention, by providing the display means, the runway can display a remaining quantity and a state of power supply capacity of the runway, and when connecting terminals of the runway are in contact with electric power supply rails, a remaining quantity of power supply capacity of the condenser, a state of charge and duration until completion of charge.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in the first or second aspects of the invention, wherein the electric power supply means of the runway is a pair of metal pieces disposed at the side of the runway.
According to the construction of the third aspect of the present invention, by providing the electric power supply means of the runway at the side of the runway, electric power can be normally supplied even if a height of the running body changes.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to third aspects of the invention, wherein the runway is constructed such that an entranceway thereof is widened in the shape of a fan so as to guide said running body easily from the entranceway into the runway.
According to the construction of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the runway can easily guide the running toy into the runway by widening one end thereof in the shape of a fan.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, wherein said running body is adapted to be provided with the display means for displaying a storage state of the condenser so as to get information such as a remaining quantity of electric power, whereby charging the running body can be well timed.
According to the construction of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the remaining quantity of power supply capacity of the condenser, the state of charge, the duration until completion of charge, and time allowable to run can be displayed on the display means of the running body.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, wherein the connecting means of said running body is a pair of connecting terminals disposed at the side of the running body.
According to the construction of the sixth aspect of the present invention, by providing the connecting terminals of the running body at the side, electric power can be normally supplied even if a height of the running body changes.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to sixth aspects of the invention, wherein the connecting terminals of said running body have elastic force.
According to the construction of the seventh aspect of the present invention, an effect is made on equalizing a gap between the running body and the runway during charge, and the connecting terminals are welded to the electric power supply means with pressure, whereby electric power can be normally supplied.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to seventh aspects of the invention, wherein a steering mechanism for controlling traveling direction is provided on front wheels of said running body.
According to the construction of the eighth aspect of the present invention, by providing the steering mechanism, the running toy can run with turning in a lateral direction.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a running toy as set forth in any of the first to eighth aspects of the invention, wherein the steering mechanism is adapted to have a parallel link structure with a link member and a crank member relative to a chassis, and the traveling direction of the running body can be controlled by sliding the link member in a lateral direction under the influence of an electromagnet fixed to the chassis.
According to the construction of the ninth aspect of the present invention, the steering mechanism of the running body can control the traveling direction of the running body.
There is provided a running toy comprising a running body and a runway, wherein said running body comprises a reception means for receiving outer operating information, a control means for control based on the information received by the reception means, a driving means for making wheels rotate by control signals from the control means, a condenser able to supply electric power to the driving means, and a connecting means connected to the condenser and charging the condenser from the outside of the running body, and wherein said runway comprises a power supply for supplying electric power and an electric power supply means connected to said power supply and adapted to come in contact with the connecting means of said running body so as to supply electric power, said runway comprising a display means for displaying the state of charge to the running body and said electric power supply means of the runway, wherein said electric power supply means of the runway comprises a pair of metal pieces disposed at the side of the runway, and said runway constructed so as to widen an entranceway thereof in the shape of a fan. And, the connecting means of said running body is a pair of connecting terminals disposed at the side of the running body, a steering mechanism to control the traveling direction is provided on front wheels of said running body, and the steering mechanism has a parallel link structure of a link member with a crank member related to the chassis.